


Normal

by RhymeSalad



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-23
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-14 18:52:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17514050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RhymeSalad/pseuds/RhymeSalad
Summary: Krista Strauss is a talented Gym Leader and a gifted mentor, but ever since her brother's disappearance she's merely been going through the motions. Her past intersects with her future when a mysterious visitor arrives at her Gym, and she is thrown into a Pokémon journey she never believed she would make again...





	1. Washed Up

I leaned against the wooden platform and did my best to stifle a yawn. You know how it is, professional decorum and all that. It would be rude to show how bored I really was when the kid across the room was giving it his all…

It made me a little sad that his all wouldn't be nearly enough… but that's just life sometimes.

"It's not too late to give up," I said. "You proved your point."

"No! Ivysaur, use Razor Leaf!" The kid threw his fist in the air, and his Pokémon grunted in response.

"Hilda, watch your eyes." I turned around and raised an arm to shield the back of my head. I've been a Gym Leader for seven years- in seven years you learn better than to take any chances when it comes to rookie trainers commanding their rookie partners to use projectile-type moves.

Hilda, my Ursaring and my oldest and boldest partner, growled a great growl and brought a furry arm up to cover her own face.

The young challenger's Ivysaur cried out again and loosed a cloud of leaves, sending them whipping in the Ursaring's direction. Most of the razor-sharp leaves missed their mark; a few didn't. Hilda growled again as the small projectiles buried themselves in her hide; I spun instinctively as she grunted in pain, but Hilda had not given up any ground.

"Alright, Hilda. That's enough," I said.

I happened to glance at the kid at that moment, and I saw the hope in his face fade as he realized I wasn't actually calling my Pokémon off. No, Hilda took a running step forward.

"Ivysaur, dodge!" said the boy, but his partner could barely stand.

As the Ursaring rushed forward she let out a roar, and I felt the floor vibrate as she planted a foot and wound up for a strike.

Maybe once upon a time I would have allowed myself a smile… but today my heart wasn't in it.

"Hammer Arm," I said, quietly.

Hilda bellowed and slammed a mighty paw down at the struggling Ivysaur; the small creature flew backwards and skidded across the ground to its master's feet. It did not move again. The boy scrambled to open his backpack, trying and failing to find something, do something.

I felt another twinge of sadness for him; I knew the feeling.

"Nice job, Hilda. Take a break," I said.

The Ursaring let out a barking sort of growl and looked down at the boy and his Ivysaur, concern in her expression, but she took a few steps back and sat on the ground to lick the scrapes on her arm.

"Hey, what did you say your name was?" I said.

"K-Kevin," the boy muttered, cradling his Ivysaur.

I walked across the polished hardwood floor to a cabinet on the wall, and I swung it open to rummage inside.

"Kevin, this is a Normal type gym. You came in here with two Bug type Pokémon and a Grass type… couldn't you have camped out for a weekend and at least tracked down a Scraggy or something?"

Kevin stammered again… and I pulled an item out of the cabinet and tossed it to him.

"Here, take care of your Ivysaur. That was a good-looking Razor Leaf; it isn't his fault you were fighting out of your league."

The boy caught the item and looked down, wide-eyed.

"But… Miss Krista! A Hyper Potion? I don't even have any money for the battle…"

I waved a hand.

"If I was worried about money, I would have washed up years ago." I turned my back on him again. "Keep training, come back in a year."

The young trainer collected himself and his Pokémon and hastily exited the Gym, presumably making a beeline for the Center, or to his mom… or something like that. Wasn't any of my business once he left my Gym.

Hilda growled again from where she was sitting on the arena's floor, and I looked over my shoulder; I realized somebody had entered the Gym just as Kevin was leaving, and now stood in the shadows cast at the room's entrance.

"Gym's closed," I called over my shoulder.

"Man, oh man," said the newcomer, and I frowned as I recognized his voice. "Krista, has it really been that long?"

Yes, as he stepped into the light there could be no mistaking it; that red and black jacket, that slicked-back hair, that smarmy smirk…

"Grimsley, what are you doing here?"

"What, I'm not allowed to drop in and say hi to an old friend?" he said, spreading his hands. "Also, I'm still your boss."

"Technically," I said. I busied myself pouring dry food and water into a pair of red-and-white bowls on the floor, just so he wouldn't get the impression I was actually interested in chatting.

"You really let that kid have it," said Grimsley. He walked over to Hilda and scratched her behind the ears- she bared her teeth, but she knew better than to react any further. "I gotta say, your Ursaring is  
still top-tier."

"Her name is Hilda," I said.

"We're getting a lot of complaints about you, you know," he said.

'We' meaning the Elite Four. They were the bunch of pricks that fancied themselves the strongest trainers in Unova, and they had complete oversight of all the Gyms in the region… including my own. It didn't help that they actually were the best of the best.

"File a complaint with City Hall. I can't help you," I said, unenthusiastically.

Grimsley paused.

"You can't help me… but can you come join me for dinner?"

"That's certainly not happening," I said.

"Not even if the League is paying?"

I hesitated.

"Alright, but we're going someplace that sells booze."

"I'll expense your bar tab. Boss man won't like it… but it's worth it for a chance to get the great and powerful Krista Strauss out of her self-imposed exile."

I turned up my nose, but half an hour later Grimsley and I were seated on the street at a nice café, waiting for our dinner. I had a drink in my hand and Hilda sat on the street next to me, daintily snacking on a pile of berries. That was the nice thing about Castelia City; almost all of the restaurants were Pokémon-friendly.

"So, about those complaints," said Grimsley. "When's the last time you gave out a badge? A… uh…"

"A Monochrome Badge." I finished his sentence for him. "I don't know… three, four weeks ago? It was the week Hilda was down with Pokérus, she wasn't in fighting shape."

"That was one of the complaints. People are getting mad that you only ever seem to fight with your Ursaring. They say they have no chance of ever beating her." Grimsley reached over and scratched Hilda's ears again; she turned up her snout and popped another berry in her mouth.

"What's the point of running a Gym if you're just going to lose all the time? Look at the other Gym in Castelia. When's the last time Burgh actually won a battle?" I said.

Grimsley paused.

"Krista, do you know a trainer by the name of Chase?"

I thought for a second.

"Short kid, a little scrawny, fights with a Steelix?"

"So you do remember him." Grimsley nodded, watching me a little too intently.

"Yeah, sure. He used to hang around my Gym. He never actually managed to beat me, though."

"Krista, when's the last time you lost a battle? And I mean honestly lost."

"Grimsley, I fight ten-year-olds." I shrugged.

As glamorous as the life of a Gym leader may seem, it's a job like any other. There's a lot of day-to-day maintenance, and sometimes the endless flow of subpar "challengers" can wear your patience thin. I was fortunate, of course; not many people get to make a living doing what they love. But ninety-nine out of one hundred battles for my precious Monochrome Badge were not the pulse-pounding clashes I had once dreamed of.

"Say, whatever happened to Chase?" I said after a minute, as nonchalantly as I could.

"He challenged the Elite Four yesterday," said Grimsley. "He beat us all, made it all the way to the Champ. He couldn't go all the way…"

I nodded in approval.

"Still, not bad."

"He credited you with all of his success," said Grimsley. "He said it was all because of his time spent under your wing… like you said, he never beat you, though."

I studied Grimsley's face.

"What are you saying, exactly? Are you trying to say you think I'm Elite Four caliber?" I said.

Grimsley let my question hang for a minute, then took a coin out of his pocket. He flipped it and caught it on his wrist, hiding the result from me, before he answered.

"I think you could be, if you applied yourself," he said.

I laughed. And laughed. And about twenty seconds into my laughing fit Grimsley got up and pushed his chair in. He walked away without saying goodbye; the waiter later told me that he had taken care of my tab on his way out.

Once I could breathe again, I turned to Hilda; all the other people in the café and on the street who were now staring at me could go to hell.

"He's crazy, Hilda. I'm just a normal trainer, right? I'm happy with my Normal Gym, my Monochrome Badge. We have a good thing going here."

Hilda's sympathetic growl offered no answers. But anyway, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Krista Strauss, I'm a trainer. Always have been. I'm twenty-nine years old, and all I have to my name is a fistful of Pokedollars, an apartment subsidized by the Pokémon League, and the three strongest Pokémon in the Unova region- I believed that, without reservation.

That should have been plenty, right? At least… it should have been something.  
But let me tell you, as I sat there on the street, drinking with my Ursaring on my boss's dime, I felt utterly and helplessly normal, more hopelessly normal than I had in years.


	2. Locked Down

I finished eating and had another drink on Grimsley's tab, and I ordered Hilda a dessert before I decided I was ready to call it a night. Not that I really had anything better to do… laundry maybe, and a few recorded Alolan Battle Royals to catch up on. But I couldn't sit drinking all night- complaints be damned, I still had a job to do at my Gym in the morning.

I didn't go straight home, though. Instead, Hilda and I went back the way we had come, back towards my Gym. Don't get me wrong, Hilda was my best friend but she wasn't a great roommate; an Ursaring just couldn't fit comfortably in my apartment. Hilda much preferred spreading out on the floor of the Gym, where her snoring wouldn't bother anybody and where she could stretch her legs without worrying about accidently putting her foot through the drywall.

It was fine by me; as long as she was around I knew I would never have to worry about anybody breaking into my Gym after hours. Ever heard the expression 'don't poke the sleeping bear?'

We got to the Gym and Hilda nuzzled me goodnight, and I let her in and locked the glass doors behind her. But don't worry, if she really had to get out those doors wouldn't have stopped her.

The sun had already set by the time I started for home- they say Castelia City never sleeps, but the decent people in it sure do. The city was somehow as noisy as ever, with the sounds of cars and machinery and industry all blending together, but I didn't encounter many people on the streets as I strolled back to my apartment.

That is, until I cut down my favorite alley.

Castelia had a plethora of sidestreets and alleys nestled in between the buildings that most tourists didn't know about and most locals tended to avoid. The consequences of those kinds of quirks in the city's planning were twofold; sometimes you'd find a hidden gem, a bar or a club or an art gallery hidden away from the world. And sometimes you'd find trouble.

Based on what you know about me so far, can you guess which one I stumbled into?

I think I saw him before he saw me- a man wearing all black leaned with his arms crossed against the brick wall, halfway up the alley, smoking a cigarette. A Sneasel sat next to him on top of a metal trash can, merrily beating its feet against its seat in a steady rhythm.

I wrinkled my nose as I approached and caught a whiff of the smoke. He looked up at me as I passed, and then he looked me down, and then he looked me up again.

"Those things will kill you," I said, not looking at him.

The alley was only dimly lit, by whatever stars could shine down and whatever light could make its way in from the streets at either end. Shadows stretched through the long alley, and, as far as I could tell, there was nobody else around… a dangerous situation to be sure. But my life was a string of dangerous situations.

…And remember: do as I say, not as I do.

"That's not very friendly of you," the man said as I passed. His voice was deadpan; his Sneasel snickered.

I ignored him, looking straight ahead. I didn't stop walking, but I heard a rustle behind me.

"Hey, Sweetheart. I'm talking to you."

I didn't turn, but I could tell he had begun following me.

"Sneasel," said the man… and I stopped short.

Behind me, I heard him snap his fingers.

"Bingo."

I tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible. Dealing with creeps was just part of life in the big city- especially if you made a habit of taking shortcuts down alleys- but Castelia's creeps usually didn't have Pokémon out, ready to start trouble. Sure, if it came to a real battle then I would kick him up and down the alley… but that Sneasel lurking behind me made the situation a lot more complicated.  
If the man and his Pokémon actually had malicious intent… I shuddered as I imagined what that Sneasel's claws must have felt like.

So I did the only thing I could do; I listened, and I heard the man walk closer and closer, until he was right behind me.

"What's your story, Blondie?" he said, slowly. "Are you new to this city? Or just a little slow? Don't you know better than to creep around places like this after dark?"

I felt a touch on the back of my neck, and I tensed as the man ran a finger through my hair. My hand went to touch the single Poké Ball at my waist…

"That's enough of that," the man said.

I frowned, but I forced down my frustration and raised my hands placatingly.

"Listen, do we have to do this?" I said.

The man's hand slid down to my shoulders, and then to my lower back where it lingered for a minute… it was all I could do to keep my cool. After a moment, he walked around to look me in the face.

The man's face was largely unremarkable. He must have been a little younger than me; I placed him in his early twenties. Acne scars aside he had probably once been good looking, but his face had a gaunt character to it. His head was shaved, his clothes were shabby, and I couldn't believe how hard his eyes were. When was the last time the man had smiled?

"Say… you look familiar," he said.

"You don't," I said. "Say, are you much of a Trainer?"

The man blinked, and took a step back.

"Hands off the Poké Ball!" he said. "My Sneasel is behind you, he'll hit you with an Ice Shard before you send out that Ursaring. You're the Gym Leader, right? Krista Strauss?"

I winked at him, and I took a step forward and placed both of my hands on the man, gently.

"I'm glad to meet an adoring fan," I said. "I never got your name."

The man's eyes were wary, but he didn't recoil from my touch.

"Derek," he said, quietly.

"Derek…" I dug in with both hands until I had a grip on his clothing. Confusion creased his face but he did not try to stop me…

"Mitzi, now!" I yelled.

The man's eyes widened and I threw all of my weight forwards, rolling as I did. He outweighed me, and he was certainly stronger than me, but forward is the one direction he must not have expected me to lunge; it was enough to put him halfway between me and the threat of his Sneasel's Ice Shard attacks.

He started to say something, or perhaps to command his Pokémon to attack, but his sentence gave way to a cry of pain as a black blur rushed at him from the shadows and clamped its jaws around his arm.

I took a step backwards and watched as Mitzi, my Umbreon, wrestled with Derek.

"Sneasel, give me a hand!" Derek yelled, and Mitzi released his arm and leaped back to stand at the ready in front of me.

The Sneasel rushed forward and did the same, getting in between his trainer and my Pokémon and I couldn't help it; I grinned.

"So what's it gonna be, Derek? Are you going to give me half of your money now? Or do you think you have what it takes? I'll give you a Badge if you win…"

Cradling his bleeding arm, Derek cursed.

"What gives with the Umbreon? Aren't you supposed to be a Normal type Leader?"

I shrugged.

"She started out as a Normal type. Then she evolved," I said. "Mitzi, let them have it."

The gold rings along the Umbreon's body began to glow ominously, and Mitzi rushed forward with a cry at the opposing Sneasel. I could tell by the way it moved that the Sneasel was fast; Mitzi was better.  
She slammed into the Sneasel, sending it skidding backwards, and she deftly ducked under a retaliating claw.

"Sneasel, use Slash!" yelled Derek, uselessly, after his Pokémon had already begun attacking. I shook my head.

Mitzi knew what to do even without any commands. I watched as she ducked another claw and nipped at the Sneasel's outstretched arm, batted down a third claw attack, and then leaped back. It was almost like art in motion; pride welled up in me as I recognized the exact maneuvers that we had spent hours and hours practicing.

The combination was working, and I could see the Sneasel visibly becoming more and more frustrated… but then a flash of light erupted from a little further down in the alley. I looked up at Derek, and saw another Poké Ball in his hand.

"Mitzi, look out!" I yelled, taking a step back myself, and Mitzi ducked out of the way as a lightning-fast blade of ice lanced through the space where she had just been standing.

Another Sneasel darted out from under Derek's legs and lunged at Mitzi, its claws flailing…

"Two on one isn't fair," I muttered. "Mitzi, are you okay?"

The Umbreon looked back at me and the rings on her fur glowed a little brighter- she would be fine. My hand went to the other Poké Ball on my waist, just to make sure it was still there, but I understood the look in Mitzi's eyes: 'Not if I can help it.'

"I trust you… In that case, use Feint Attack," I said, my voice low.

The two Sneasels ran in opposite directions as Mitzi seemingly faded into the shadows- this was the reason I could walk down any alley in Castelia City without fear. Mitzi was truly in her element. Always in the shadows, always close behind, ready to strike at anybody who dared harass her Trainer…

As quickly as she had disappeared, Mitzi reappeared right behind the first Sneasel. I wanted to look away but couldn't- the Umbreon locked her jaws around the smaller Pokémon's throat, shook it around violently, and then let it fly. The Sneasel crashed into the brick wall and collapsed in a heap.

But Mitzi was not done. She dashed straight towards the second Sneasel, who stood staring stunned at its companion, and Mitzi's fur bristled… a second later, the Sneasel let out a scream and covered its eyes. It fell to the ground, writhing frantically, and Mitzi stood above it, watching it as impassionately as an exterminator might watch a Rattata in a trap. After a second, she looked back at me for directions.

I pointed at Derek, who looked unsure of what to do.

"Come on, Mitzi, you have one more. Go easy on him."

Mitzi mewled in acknowledgement and rushed at Derek, leaped, and body slammed him square in his chest, with enough force to bring the man down to the ground. Mitzi was heavier than she looked; almost sixty pounds of muscle and teeth. I watched as her fur bristled again and Derek groaned as a faint cloud of mist enveloped his face.

"That stuff burns, right? Did you know Umbreon secrete poison when they're agitated?" I said. "Derek, you agitated my Umbreon. Why did you do that?"

Derek said nothing. In his face, besides the tears streaming from his eyes on account of the poison, was that… shame?

"Go get your Pokémon to the Center. If you're lucky the nurse might treat you too." I paused. "If you go now then you probably won't go blind."

Mitzi hopped off of Derek's supine form and she somehow faded back into the shadows. Even though I knew exactly what I was looking for, I truly couldn't see her… but she was there, watching my back.

I turned to continue walking.

"Wait," said Derek, weakly. "I lost a battle to a Gym Leader. Don't I owe you money?"

"Keep your money. This alley is mine now," I said.

And with that, I went back to my apartment, unmolested, to do my laundry and watch my recorded Battle Royal videos. I'm not sure if it's coincidence, but from that day forward I never again ran into trouble in my favorite alley.


	3. Closed Off

I woke up the next morning, not to an alarm, but to the sun streaming in. A quick glance at the clock suggested I had overslept and the disappointed look on Mitzi's face confirmed it… I dragged myself out of bed and spent a minute or two stretching.

I threw open the blinds and winced as unadulterated midmorning sunlight flooded the room. I stripped and sniffed myself, and I decided I was late enough to justify skipping a shower… but I made sure I put on clean underwear.

I crossed the room, stepping over dirty clothes and beer cans and well-worn Pokémon magazines, and for the hundredth time I vowed to clean out my flat… later. I pulled a beer out of the fridge and cracked it, threw a piece of leftover pizza in the microwave, and I brushed my hair out as I waited for my breakfast to heat up.

The look of quiet disapproval on my Umbreon's face deepened… until I took a big chunk of pepperoni off of the pizza and tossed it in her direction. She picked it up off the floor and brought it back to her corner of the room to eat; Mitzi's corner was spotless, in direct contrast to the rest of the apartment.

But you know what they say, right? Opposites attract.

I buckled down and hustled through the rest of my abbreviated morning routine, and twenty minutes later Mitzi and I stood once again in front of our Gym. I checked my reflection in the glass doors- you mostly couldn't tell I wasn't wearing a bra, and at the very least my hair was still blond. Satisfied, I stepped inside to find a battle already underway.

"Aw… Furfrou, use Headbutt!" yelled Sadie.

I crept along the wall of the Gym towards where Hilda sat at the back, watching the battle as I went. Evidently, Sadie had arrived early and opened up for the day… as usual. And by the looks of things, she was having her usual lack of battling success.

The Furfrou with delicately styled fur in the ring crept forward and launched into a tentative tackle, which the opposing Tranquill easily avoided. Sadie let out a cry of frustration, and her challenger, who could not have been more than ten or eleven years old, gave his Tranquill the obvious and vague order to retaliate. I had lost interest by the time I reached Hilda, who sat watching politely on the wooden platform in back of the Gym.

Sadie Helfant was a regular at my Gym; I don't think Hilda has stomped on any one Pokémon as many times as that Furfrou in the ring. I didn't know much about Sadie, other than the fact that her family had relocated to Castelia City from Kalos fairly recently. Within the last year or so she had taken a strong interest in improving as a trainer, and eventually I had just broken down and given her a key to the Gym.

For the most part the arrangement was mutually beneficial; every few days Hilda would kick around her Pokémon and I would give Sadie a few pointers, and she would battle many of the challengers who came looking for a Monochrome Badge. As a general rule, if a trainer couldn't beat Sadie then I had no interest in battling them…

Fortunately, there was more to being a trainer than just excelling at battles, as Sadie certainly did not excel at battles. She was nice enough, though.

"Why don't you use your Kingler?" I called.

"Non!" she said, and a little bit of her Kalos accent slipped out. "Furfrou has this one, watch and see."

I shrugged and went up to greet Hilda, not really paying much attention to the battle in the ring. I could tell by the way the challenger's Tranquill was moving that it must have been fresh out of the wild; it should have hardly been worth even Sadie's time.

Her Furfrou proved her right in the end though, and a few minutes after I spoke she cheered as one of those tentative Headbutt attacks landed. The opposing Tranquill fell over, evidently unconscious, and the young challenger ran over to it in dismay. I watched the scene as it unfolded and tried to hide my amusement as Sadie demanded money from her vanquished opponent and admonished him on his way out the door, and I gave her a nod when she looked up at me for approval.

"Your Kingler could have ended that battle in half the time," I said.

"You're right, but that would have been rude. At least one of us has to be polite, otherwise people will stop coming here."

I rolled my eyes, but she had a point.

Being a Gym Leader came with a set of peculiar restrictions, one of them being the Monotype Requirement. In all officially sanctioned battles, battles recognized by the Pokémon League with a Badge on the line, Leaders were obligated to use a team of a single type.

Technically the Leader was the only one bound by that restriction, but it was considered good etiquette for the other trainers in a Gym to follow their Leader's example.

"But there's more to it than that," she said. "Furfrou was my first partner. I've seen what Hilda can do, and that's where I want Furfrou to be."

"Well, I guess I can understand that…" I said.

The devil was in the details, though; that Furfrou hated battling. You could see it every time it tried to attack. It was much happier being pampered, and, speaking of which…

"Did you style its fur yourself?" I said. I gestured at the Furfrou, now tenderly licking a scrape on one paw; the elaborate patterns sculpted from its thick fur coat had survived the battle seemingly untouched.

"That's right!" said Sadie, excited. "I worked late at the salon last night and I wanted to try something new in-between clients. I'm happy with how it came out."

"That kind of thing is popular in Kalos, right?" I said.

Sadie nodded.

"People love their Furfrou styles in Kalos. Furfrou hasn't caught on in Unova yet…"

"But that's where you come in, right?" I said, smiling.

Sadie nodded again, excitedly.

And with that, we all got to work. Both Hilda and Mitzi knew what they needed to do- I held a heavy bag as they took turns pummeling it, and after a few rounds I sent them off for conditioning work. Hilda   
worked at hefting a set of atlas stones in one corner of the Gym, while Mitzi ran a makeshift sort of agility circuit.

Contrary to what most people believed, being a Gym Leader didn't get you or your Pokémon a free pass from training. In this business you'd better not get caught resting on your laurels… indeed, I even joined Mitzi and Hilda for calisthenics work of my own on days when Sadie was not at the Gym. I was happy to beg out of my share of the physical training that afternoon though; I probably smelled offensive enough as it was.

 

An hour or two later, Sadie's Furfrou and her Kingler had just begun an exhibition match when something cast a shadow across the Gym's glass doors, and I caught a glimpse of what must have been a Steel-type Pokémon outside. Its Trainer walked into the Gym, dressed in a bomber jacket, a flannel shirt, and a pair of dark jeans with combat boots to match, and a bad taste crept into my mouth.

"Hey, Krista."

The young Trainer raised a hand and smiled at me. His posture was lazy, but I knew him well enough to look past his scruffy appearance.

"Chase, right?" I nodded at him.

"I'm glad you remember me, Sensei," he said.

"Don't call me that. What are you doing here?"

The smile crept wider across Chase's face.

"Didn't you hear, Krista? I got my butt kicked last week. I battled through the Elite Four, knocked off all four…"

"And you couldn't get through the Champ in the end," I said.

He spread his hands.

"You got me. And the kicker is… he made sure my Pokémon were all healed before the battle. No excuses, the old man wiped the floor with me."

I nodded, eying the boy warily. Well, maybe "boy" wasn't the right word. He had grown an inch or two since I had last seen him, and he was a lot less gangly… but "man" wasn't the right word either.

"The reason I came here though…"

I tensed as Chase paused. I couldn't help it, there was just something in his voice.

"…I never did win that Monochrome Badge," he said. "I'll be back for the Champ, and I think I'm one Badge away from being ready."

"Is that right?" I said. "Have you beaten Burgh yet, across the street? Last time I checked he was closer to your speed."

"How can that be, after all those years I spent biting at your ankles?" said Chase.

I looked him in the eyes; I hadn't seen that kind of steel in a Trainer's eyes in years. And I couldn't help it; I smiled. No, I grinned. I bared my teeth and turned to face him squarely.

"Are you still lugging that Steelix around?"

Chase nodded.

"Spike's been looking forward to going toe-to-toe with Hilda again. Old times' sake, you know?"

"I've never been much of a fan of nostalgia," I said. "But I get the picture. In that case, I guess that means the hardwood won't cut it." I tapped a toe on the wooden arena flor below me.

Chase spread his hands again.

"Your dojo, your rules."

"No, you're not going to be able to pull any punches. Come back tomorrow and I'll have the Gym converted."

Chase snapped his fingers and shot me a cheerful thumbs up, but I held up a hand.

"Hang on, though. Before you go… I'm invoking my champion's advantage. You have to get through my minion before I can be sure you're worth my time."

Chase's face twisted into an expression of surprised amusement, and Sadie took a step back.

"Non! You… you mean me, Krista?"

"Do you see any other lackeys here?" I said. "C'mon, it'll be good for you. Chase started off exactly where you did- the only difference is I think you're smarter than he is."

I glanced at Chase and remembered why I always found him so aggravating- his grin was infectious.

"Well… if you say so," said Sadie, and she stepped onto the hardwood. She took a Ball off of her waist and released her Kingler, and I felt the impact as its heavy claw hit the ground. I nodded, satisfied, and watched Chase.

He looked the Kingler up and down and then nodded, seemingly satisfied. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a Poké Ball of his own, and out of it emerged…

"A Quagsire?" Sadie and I said, in unison.

The blue amphibious Pokémon yawned where it stood, and Chase nodded again.

"Get ready, Swampy. Time to show Miss Krista what we're made of." He paused, and shot a friendly smile at Sadie. "Oh, and good luck."

Sadie pouted and looked up at me.

"Trainers, get ready," I said. "Trainer Chase Cambria, versus Trainer Sadie Helfant… under the official supervision of Leader Krista Strauss. Monochrome Badge qualifier… Battle!"

Sadie yelled and her Kingler leapt into action, rushing sidelong at the lazy looking Quagsire. On paper, it was a great matchup for Sadie. Her Kingler's greatest strength laid in the crushing power of its oversized claw, but it tended to tire quickly. We had been working on its endurance together, but for now the crustacean's greatest successes came in battles where it could easily get its claws on a big, slow opponent. For all intents and purposes, the Quagsire should have fit that definition… but I didn't trust something about its body language.

On the contrary; despite its lazy smile and ponderous movements I suspected it wasn't a lazy Pokémon at all.

"Kingler, use Vice Grip!" said Sadie.

I watched carefully as the Kingler reached out with its large claw, and the Quagsire's reaction was so fluid I almost missed it. It spun three hundred and sixty degrees, just barely out of the claw's reach, and as it did it brought its tail up and knocked the Kingler's claw out of the way.

I saw Sadie's face crease in frustration, and I tried not to wince as she ordered her Kingler to repeat the attack.

The overgrown crustacean's second attack was met with a similar result; this time, I saw a little water splash as the Quagsire's tail again knocked the Kingler's claw to the ground.

Aqua Tail. There could be no doubt.

"Kingler, forget it! Use Crabhammer!" said Sadie, and I felt a little bad. She had no idea what to expect.

Kingler raised its great pincer and brought it down in what should have been a crushing blow, but the Quagsire just barely slid out of the way. Rather, it avoided the strike so deftly that it gave the impression it had barely moved, and I raised my eyebrows as it similarly dodged a second strike.

"Say, Krista," said Chase. "Will you be angry if I mess up your hardwood floor?"

"Do your worst," I said.

"Righto. Swampy, you heard the Leader," he said.

"Hey, pay attention to your opponent!" said Sadie.

I shook my head and watched as her Kingler raised his pincer a little more slowly than it had before. This time, rather than just slipping the blow, the Quagsire leaped and slid around behind its opponent.   
Chase whistled, and his Quagsire stomped a foot down on the polished floor. Sadie yelped as splinters flew into the air, and the Kingler struggled to turn and face its opponent. Its body moved faster than   
its oversized pincer, and I watched the Quagsire plant both feet as the Kingler struggled to bring its claw to bear.

"Lights out," said Chase, and the Quagsire plunged its tail into the hole it had created in the hardwood, into the sand underneath. It came up with a clump of mud and leaped in the air, and I winced again as it launched that Mud Bomb at the Kingler, point-blank, trebuchet-like.

But I couldn't help clapping as Sadie rushed over to take care of her fainted Pokémon. By all rights, that Mud Bomb should not have been an effective attack against Sadie's Kingler… but the Quagsire had played it perfectly. Not only had the attack been inordinately strong; the Quagsire had waited for its opponent to tire and present an undeniable opening.

"Hey, it's Sadie, right?" said Chase. "Nice battle."

Sadie sniffled, and Chase looked over at me.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Ten AM," I said.

"Yeah, I'll be up." Chase returned his Quagsire to its Ball and waved over his shoulder as he exited the Gym, leaving Sadie and I standing in the ring. I looked over at where Hilda and Mitzi had stood watching.

"The two of you think you're up to it? This might be the first real challenge we've had in months," I said, and my two Pokémon growled in acknowledgement.

"Sadie, don't feel bad. I meant it, he started off a lot worse than where you are now," I said.

"Are his other Pokémon like that?" said Sadie.

"They're stronger, I'd imagine. But it's okay, so are mine," I said with a smile.

Sadie dried her eyes and set off for the Pokémon Center, promising that she would switch her shift around at the salon in the morning so she could come observe the battle. After she left, I went over to the cabinet on the wall and took out two Poké Balls. From them, I let out a Vigaroth and a Diggersby, who stood at attention and waited for direction.

"Good afternoon, boys," I said. "You have about sixteen hours; I want the Gym configured for a title fight. Stow the hardwood in the basement, and make sure the arena is prepped."

Both of the Pokémon cried out excitedly and hopped to it; the Vigaroth began to rip up the boards covering the sand at the center of the Gym, and the Diggersby got to work making sure that sand would be an effective battle arena by morning.

I watched the two of them work for a moment; I had converted my Gym from an old legion hall, see, on account of space restrictions within the tightly-packed Castelia City. Those two Pokémon didn't get to fight much, except for days when Hilda and Mitzi needed a break or in exhibition matches against rookie Trainers, but I had trained them both myself. I couldn't not be a little proud of them.

I walked over to Hilda and scratched her under the chin.

"Make sure you get a good night's sleep, huh? Tomorrow's going to be a big day."

And that night, as the sun set and I locked the Gym's doors, I tried to remember the last time a battle had excited me.


	4. Ante Up

Mitzi and I arrived at the Gym uncharacteristically early, to find a waiting Sadie, who had arrived characteristically early. I nodded to her and fumbled with the key I always wore around my wrist, unlocking the door.

“How come you’re waiting outside?” I said.

Sadie smiled.

“Today seems like a big day. I didn’t want to interfere with your routine.”

I snorted, and I eased the glass doors open. I gazed around the Gym; it was completely unrecognizable from the night before. All of the hardwood on the walls and the floors and the ceiling had been stripped away, leaving black and white tile exposed in its place. The dancefloor-cum-arena had been stripped away, and a ring of hard-packed soil dominated most of the Gym’s square footage. Indeed, everything flammable had disappeared overnight, rolled into the basement for safekeeping. The room didn’t have the same sort of character… but it was the sort of place you could really cut loose without fear. 

I flashed a thumbs-up to my Vigaroth and my Diggersby, and they both grunted in satisfaction. I turned to Hilda, who sat cross-legged in the center of the arena, and I gestured to Sadie.

Sadie hopped into action; she ran over and produced a brush from her handbag, and she began carefully grooming the Ursaring. Hilda liked to be spoiled before important battles.

I went about my own chores- I had a few forms I had to fill out for official League use, and I made sure all of the Pokémon in the Gym were fed and watered, even the ones I didn’t expect to fight. While Hilda was distracted with her breakfast, Sadie came over and sat down next to me.

“You’re really taking this seriously, aren’t you Krista?” she said.

“You could say that,” I said. “How can you tell?”

“Well you’re wearing a bra, for a start,” said Sadie.

I sniffed, and adjusted myself, and Sadie laughed.

“Well, I am taking it seriously,” I said. “It’s been a while since Hilda and Mitzi have really flexed their muscles.”

Sadie looked over at my two Pokémon, both warming up in the ring.

“Say, Krista. Are Hilda and Mitzi the only two Pokémon you’ll use?”

I wrinkled my nose. Sadie raised a good question; I occasionally sent Vigaroth and Diggersby to battle young or inexperienced trainers, but those two were fundamentally better at laboring than they were   
at battling. But there was a third, one who could give Hilda and Mitzi a run for their money… I touched a hand to the third Ball at my waist, just to make sure it was still there.

It was a little cocky to assume my Umbreon and my Ursaring could defeat Chase’s entire team by themselves… but I didn’t want to send that third Pokémon out to battle unless there was no choice.

“Just leave that part to me,” I said.

Sadie looked a little confused, but she didn’t press. She giggled as I adjusted my bra again, uncomfortably, and the tension in the room was dispelled.

Chase walked into the Gym a short time later, just as Mitzi and Hilda were finishing their warm-ups.

“Yo, Krista. Am I early?” said Chase. As he raised a hand in greeting, I caught a glimpse of four distinct Poké Balls hanging from his belt. 

“Nope, perfect timing. I was worried you were going to keep me waiting.”

“I set three alarms, just for the occasion,” said Chase. He took one of those Balls from his belt and released a Steelix onto the sand in the center of the Gym.

The giant serpentine Pokémon growled, and it coiled its body to wait.

I nodded in approval.

“Hilda, you’re up first.”

The Ursaring barked out her acknowledgement and trotted out into the ring, and Mitzi bounded over to stand at my side at the arena’s edge.

“Chase, are you okay with the standard format? Three-on-three, elimination?”

“Yeah, that works for me,” said Chase. “Do you even have three Pokémon?”

My mouth twisted. 

“Sadie asked me the same thing. You just leave that to me, bucko.”

I paused a second and sized up the Steelix in the ring- Chase had told me once that Spike, that Steelix in the ring, had been his first partner, and I knew from experience that it could probably rival Hilda in terms of raw power. The whole battle could be decided in the first few moments of this first matchup, if Hilda and I weren’t careful…

“So… should we just get on with it?” said Chase.

“Come on, now,” I said. “You still have a lot to learn about women, Chase. You can’t just skip the foreplay. Isn’t that right, Sadie?”

Sadie turned red, and I grinned.

“Alright, here we go! Leader, Krista Strauss! This will be a three-on-three, elimination battle for the Monochrome Badge, sanctioned by the Pokémon League! Trainer Chase Cambria, do you waive the monotype requirement?”

“I do,” said Chase, and his Steelix growled.

“Good. Sadie, will you do the honors?”

Sadie gulped.

“Trainers, get ready… combatants, take your positions, and fight!” Sadie threw a hand in the air, and I did the same.

Hilda rushed into action, and the Steelix lashed out with its tail to meet her.

Hilda didn’t need instructions; we had practiced this exact matchup many times before. Sure, it had been a few years, but if my Ursaring was rusty she didn’t show it. She sidestepped the Steelix’s tail and planted her feet, winding up for a Hammer Arm strike…

But Chase’s Steelix knew exactly what was coming. It half-slithered and half-rolled to the side and brought that heavy tail around again, and Chase whooped as Hilda scrambled to duck under the sweeping blow.

“Spike, keep the pressure up!” said Chase. “Stick and move, she’s stronger than she looks!”

I nodded.

“Hilda, he’s right,” I said. “Remember, that overgrown sidewinder is faster than it looks.”

Hilda grunted out her agreement and ducked another wide-arcing Iron Tail, and I cursed under my breath as the Steelix again skidded just barely out of her reach. Hilda took a step forward, tentatively, and then leaped back as its tail twitched again.

Chase’s Steelix reared up back into its most natural position and its uncanny grin widened; an eerie metallic rumble reverberated from the serpentine Pokémon, almost as if it were laughing at Hilda.

“Hilda, steady now…” I said.

Hilda roared her frustration, but she remained at the edge of the arena, pacing, keeping her distance.

“Alright, Spike. Show her that new trick you learned,” said Chase.

The Steelix roared, but it remained in place, grinning. I frowned, but I saw Hilda’s nose twitching as she sniffed the air. I put two and two together and yelled out to her, but she was already in motion; a cloud of acrid breath spewed from the Steelix’s mouth and singed the ground where Hilda had been standing a moment before.

“Hilda, that’s Dragon Breath!” I said. “Don’t get hit, that’s a neurotoxin. It’s game over if it catches you.”

I realized I was clenching my fists and I forced myself to relax, but I clenched them all over again as Hilda leaped out of the way of another Iron Tail attack.

It was an effective strategy, I had to give it to them. The sheer bulk of that Steelix was a huge advantage at close-range, and the threat of that Dragon Breath attack would prevent any long-range mix-ups…

“There’s no way around it, Hilda. You know what you have to do,” I said.

Hilda grunted, and again she rushed towards the Steelix. This time the Iron Tail came at her straight on, like the thrust of a spear; I held my breath as she sidestepped it and grabbed with both hands. The Steelix roared in surprise and anger as it realized Hilda had its tail gripped in a bear hug (no pun intended), and Hilda roared as she tried to overpower the Steelix and throw it off balance. But then…

“Hilda, stop!” I yelled! But not fast enough.

Hilda looked up in time to see all seven hundred pounds of the Steelix careening straight down on top of her. She tried to leap back but she couldn’t clear out in time, and she yelped as she was driven straight into the dirt.

“Woohoo! Spike, great Heavy Slam!” yelled Chase. “Now show her what comes next!”

“Come on, Hilda, shake it off,” I said, and I watched warily as the Steelix began to coil its body.

Hilda rolled out from underneath the Steelix and shakily got to her feet, and she growled as the iron snake Pokémon drove its head into the sand.

“Careful, now…” I crossed my arms and thanked y blessings I had solid ground to stand on. The sand under the arena went deceptively deep; it was specifically designed to allow Ground-type Pokémon to maneuver below the surface.

The matchup looked worse and worse for Hilda with each passing minute.

Hilda growled again- the Steelix had now burrowed completely under the ground. Chase stood across from me, looking smug, and he smiled cheerfully when he caught my eye. I ignored him and turned my attention to the arena; I squinted, looking for any sign of disturbance in the sand.

I caught one, but it happened too fast for me to react. The Steelix’s tail lanced out of the ground, like a stake to impale Hilda, who just barely sidled out of the way. The tail retracted underground, and shot out again from a different angle. This time it just barely clipped Hilda on the shoulder, but it was enough to send her tumbling end-over-end.

“No!” I yelled, uselessly.

I saw it happen in slow motion; Hilda in midair, reeling from the blow. The Steelix’s tail, lancing out a third time from below, for a finishing strike. I watched as Hilda reached out her arms, caught the tail, and somehow landed on her feet, all in one motion. She roared and wrenched the Steelix’s tail over her back, and I cheered as all seven hundred pounds of the Steel-type serpent emerged from the earth and hit the ground with a crash.

The Steelix coiled itself and lunged at Hilda, headfirst, jaws gaping, and I tried not to grin as Hilda set her feet.

“Spike, stop!” yelled Chase, but the Steelix was too furious to listen even if it could have stopped its own momentum. It flew headlong into Hilda’s arcing fist, and it made a horrible noise as it was driven back into the floor.

“Finish it!” I yelled, and Hilda hopped on top of the fallen Steelix.

The Steel-type Pokémon tried to pull itself upright, but I grimaced as I caught the faint scent of sulfur. Standing on top of the struggling Steelix, Hilda brought her fist down again, and as she did it burst into flames. She drove her flaming fist into the Steelix again and again until it moved no more, and when she was certain her opponent was incapable of fighting, she hopped to the floor and trotted back to my side.

I scratched her under the chin as Chase fumbled for a Ball with which he could call back his Steelix…

“Hilda, are you alright?” I said.

Hilda grunted, but I could tell she was putting on a brave face. She was covered in bumps and bruised and scrapes… but she didn’t get to be the toughest Pokémon in Unova by giving up easily.

I nodded to her and she took her place back in the ring as Chase sent out his second Pokémon… and I caught a flash of beige and green as a Chesnaught hopped into the arena and yipped happily.

“Great,” I muttered.

Hilda sized up her new opponent warily, and Mitzi tugged at my pant leg. I looked down at the Umbreon and then crouched down to speak.

“I know,” I said quietly. “That Chesnaught was never a good matchup… for you or for Hilda.”

Mitzi growled in agreement.

“Say, Mitzi. If I send out that Pokémon… you know the one I mean. If I send it out, are you ready?”

Mitzi growled again, and her black hair bristled.

“I know, I feel the same way. But we might not have a choice. There’s no way I’m losing to Chase.”

I stood up and fingered the third Ball at my waist, and I prayed that Hilda and Mitzi could pull off a miracle so I wouldn’t need to use the Pokémon inside…


End file.
